Center for Pulmonary Imaging Research

Meet the Team

abdullah.bdaiwi@cchmc.org

Abdullah is a research fellow for the Center for Pulmonary Imaging Research at Cincinnati Children's. He received his master’s in physics from the University of Cincinnati in May 2017. His current research focuses on the development of quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the respiratory system’s structure and function in patients with lung diseases. Additionally, he has been actively involved in establishing xenon MRI of the lungs as a potential imaging method to quantify lung function and structure at Cincinnati Children's. Besides research, Abdullah enjoys traveling, hiking and playing volleyball.

Ashley is a clinical research coordinator III in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine and CPIR. She received her master of public health from The Ohio State University in May 2023. In her free time, Ashley enjoys cooking and going to concerts.

mariah.costa@cchmc.org

Mariah is a PhD candidate in biomedical engineering at the University of Cincinnati. Mariah received her bachelor of science in biomedical engineering from the University of Akron in 2019. Her current research interests include mouse models of human lung disease, hyperpolarized 129Xe diffusion MRI and acinar airspace modeling. When not in the lab, Mariah enjoys volleyball and connecting with other scientists on Science Twitter (@scientist_MC).

I joined the Walkup lab and CPIR in January 2024 as a research fellow, after obtaining my PhD in biomedical engineering from the University of Virginia. My current research focuses on pulse sequence and reconstruction optimization for 1H and 129Xe MRI of the human lung, with an eye toward improving image accuracy and diagnostic utility of these modalities in challenging pediatric breath-hold contexts. Outside of the lab, I enjoy watching and playing sports, particularly hockey and soccer; trying new coffees, whiskeys, and hot sauces; and singing and arranging songs for a cappella.

chamindu.gunatilaka@cchmc.org

Chamindu is a research fellow in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine and CPIR. He received his PhD in physics from the University of Cincinnati in May 2021. His current research investigates breathing energy and drug delivery in neonates using ultrashort echo-time (UTE) MRI and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Besides research, Chamindu enjoys photography and playing cricket.

franciscoxavier.hoyoscordon@cchmc.org

Xavier is a PhD student working with the Division of Pulmonary Medicine at the CPIR. He received his MS in medical physics from the University of Glasgow in December 2020. He assists in the cardiovascular morphology, phase imaging analysis, and image segmentation in neonates with BPD. He enjoys sports, such as basketball and baseball, music and competitions.

riaz.hussain@cchmc.org

Riaz Hussain joined the Division of Pulmonary Medicine and CPIR as a research fellow in May 2022. Earlier, after receiving his PhD in physics from the University of Parma, Italy in February 2019. He worked as a postdoc in the physics department of University of Pavia, Italy from December 2018 to 2020, and as a researcher in the Department of Neuroscience of Mario Negri Institute for pharmacological research in Milan, Italy from January 2021 to April 2022. His current research interests span from the development of quantitative susceptibility maps of lungs to the clinical MRI scanning and data analysis. Outside of work, Riaz is an avid book reader, likes to walk/run, hike, and try out diverse traditional foods.

bilal.ismail@cchmc.org

Bilal is a PhD student in biomedical engineering at the University of Cincinnati under the supervision of Dr. Lura Walkup. He received an MBBS degree from Bayero University Kano (Nigeria) and a master’s in medical imaging from Central South University (China). His current research interest is in the translational applications of hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI for the diagnosis of interstitial lung diseases and other lung-related pathologies. Besides research, Bilal enjoys long walks, animations, and cooking.

wolfgang.loew@cchmc.org

alexander.matheson@cchmc.org

Alex Matheson joined the CPIR in July 2023 as a postdoctoral research fellow under the supervision of Jason Woods, PhD. Alex came to Cincinnati from Western University in London, Ontario, Canada where he earned a PhD in medical biophysics.

Alex’s previous work focused on pulmonary gas-exchange and pulmonary vascular measurements in disease, especially long-COVID. Alex’s current research involves examining fetal MRI to measure lung development as well as artificial intelligence applications in hyperpolarized gas imaging. Outside of the lab, Alex is a avid cook and spends weekends going to museums.

carter.mcmaster@cchmc.org

Samal Munidasa
Research Fellow

I am a research fellow in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine and CPIR. I received my PhD in medical biophysics from the University of Toronto and conducted research at the Hospital for Sick Children. My research focuses are the cardio-pulmonary evaluation of neonates with bronchopulmonary dysplasia and the implementation on of phase-resolved functional lung (PREFUL) MRI to evaluate lung functional in pulmonary diseases such as cystic fibrosis. Aside from research, I enjoy running, going to the gym, and travelling.

samal.munidasa@cchmc.org

juan.parrarobles@cchmc.org

joseph.plummer@cchmc.org

Joey is a PhD candidate in biomedical engineering, working under Laura Walkup, PhD in the CPIR. Prior to this, he received a master's in physics from the University of Nottingham (United Kingdom). Joey specializes in hyperpolarized xenon MRI, with current projects ranging from spiral sequence implementation, gas-exchange MRI, compressed sensing reconstruction and various statistical methods of healthy/disease populations. Outside of research, Joey loves climbing mountains and drinking good coffee.

david.roach@cchmc.org

David is a research associate in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine and CPIR. He received his PhD in chemistry from The Pennsylvania State University in December 2012.  His current research focuses on hyperpolarized Xe MR image analysis and standardizing the quantification of ventilation defects in subjects with various pulmonary diseases. Additionally, he performs chest CT image analysis to quantify lung disease burden. Beside research, David enjoys music, movies, cooking, and working out.

megan.schmitt@cchmc.org

Megan is a research nurse II in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine and CPIR. She received her BS in nursing from the University of Cincinnati in May 1999. She is a licensed RN in the state of Ohio. She completed her masters in public health from Benedictine University in December 2011. Besides patient care and research, Megan enjoys traveling and spending time with her four children.

stephanie.soderlund@cchmc.org

Stephanie is a research assistant II for the Department of Pulmonary Medicine in the Cleveland Lab. She received her bachelor of science in chemistry from Colorado State University in December 2021, and her current research is focused on methods to quantitatively measure water density in the lungs using MRI. Outside of the lab, she enjoys hiking or reading a good book.

carrie.stevens@cchmc.org

kelly.thornton@cchmc.org

antoinette.wannesdaou@cchmc.org

qiwei.xiao@cchmc.org

Qiwei Xiao is a research fellow in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine and CPIR. He graduated with a PhD from the aeronautical department of Imperial College London in May 2019. His current research interests are investigating human upper airway neuromuscular activities for subjects with sleep apnea using cine MRI and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) as well as applying convolutional neural networks for MR image classification and segmentation. Apart from research, he is also interested in body building and photography.